Reply to Healthy Lunch Ideas for Picky ADHD Kids

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]What does ADHD have to do with anything? As a person with ADHD, I was someone who always wanted different things. if they're picky eaters that's because they're picky eaters, not because of ADHD.[/quote]

My kid is a picky eater and at the bottom of the growth and weight charts and isn't hungry because of the ADHD meds. [/quote]

Lack of appetite is different from only wanting chicken nuggets.[/quote]

ADHD can contribute to picky eating in many ways.

At lunch time, when many kids are medicated and distracted y their chaos, a kid might be enticed to take a few bites of a favorite food, but there might be other foods that they will reject even if they eat more variety at other times.  A parent who prioritizes academics or behavior might make the choice to send chicken nuggets to get those few bites in, because they know that it will help them sustain attention.

Often, when medication wears off, kids experience sudden intense hunger.  This can lead to kids filling up on snack foods, which makes them less hungry and willing to try new foods when dinner is on the table later.

A kid with significant hyperactivity may burn more calories than a typical kid, and be less able to stay at the table to finish a meal.  This can lead to weight stalling or dropping which can lead to parents prioritizing weight gain  over variety.

Parents of kids with ADHD are often needing to do more helicoptering, and disciplining than parents of NT kids.  They might cook less variety because they have less time and energy for cooking.  They might also recognize that too much power struggling and helicoptering isn’t good for their relationship with their kids or their kids mental health and drop the rope on dinner.

Impulsivity can make some kids reflexively reject anything that’s novel, and can make it hard for them to change that position.  (Note: other kids impulsively seek novelty.  Kids with ADHD are different)

Interoception can be hard for kids with ADHD which can make it hard for them to slow down and listen to their bodies clues.  For some kids, this means they don’t stop when they are full, and for others it means they don’t eat enough.  Strategies that rely on kid hunger to get them to eat variety may not work for them.

While anxiety and sensory issues aren’t diagnostic features of ADHD they are absolutely more frequent in kids with ADHD.  Both of those can contribute to picky eating.

Or they could be like my kid whose ADHD inattentive doesn’t make him impulsive, and whose nonstimulant medication doesn’t impact appetite, and who eats a lovely variety.  Because each kid with ADHD is different.[/quote]

This is a very nice reply to someone who was just kind of being a jerk.  As someone with ADHD and a mom to two kids with adhd (one of whom has significant eating restrictions due to sensory deregulation. and the other does not, but struggled with lunch due to distraction), I appreciate your kind and thoughtful response. [/quote]

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